Punch Audio Portazo Hybrid IEMs – Dual Planar Basshead Fun
Punch Audio Portazo is a $189 USD pair of IEMs in In-Ear Monitors with a fun and simple 1 Dynamic Driver + 2 Planar Drivers setup at the heart, and a natural faceplate that gives each Portazo pair a unique identity and look. Today we will review the Portazo and also compare it with other IEMs from the price range, as they are an upper entry-level pair designed for precision and pure impact.
Introduction
Punch Audio already made positive impressions with us, thanks to their Punch Audio Martilo, a model that I fell in love with while reviewing for their overwhelming bass and exceptionally sturdy design. Portazo is a much more affordable pair of IEMs, with a promised 15 dB of extra bass, being also a theoretical basshead model. To keep things fair, I usually write this part without having heard the product to ensure that I judge the marketing materials coldly then comment on what is delivered.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4sDb2wP
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4SMvGDz
Build Quality And Design
Punch Audio Portazo is tuned for a thunderous bass, clear mids and extended treble. Given that the company tuned them for 15dB of sub-bass lift, they should fall either in the v-Shaped or U-Shaped style of sounds. The Dual Planar Magnetic Tweeters promise to extend the treble up to 35 kHz, far more than what humans could hear, and given how aggro usually a single planar tweeter is, I suspect they will be quite bright.
With a Next-Gen (maybe companies should start counting them, that would be fun) Dynamic Driver that features a dual-material diaphragm with liquid silicone and LCP Dome, Portazo should be able to deliver on a budget. As each unit is handcrafted and manually channel-matched, each is also paired with a detachable 2-Pin 0.78mm modular cable, and the cable supports modular connectors, both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single ended connectors.
Technically, Portazo has a SPL of 102 DB and an impedance of 10 OHMs, which means that it will be fairly easy to drive, but also fairly sensitive to source noise. The package includes the IEMs, one leather case, cable adapters, 4 filter meshes, 6 pairs of ear tips, and one user manual, which is basically the same package as Martilo, without the extra foam eartips that are included with Martilo.
Subjective Usage
Punch Audio Portazo is mostly comfortable, I had some trouble getting a proper seal every time I put them in my ears, but it is not a standard issue that I encountered before. It feels mostly like I am not getting a proper seal, despite them sitting nicely in my ears. Portazo has no driver flex, no void, and has quality eartips, plus a really nice cable, but somehow it seems to feel like the seal has been broken and like they are open sometimes.
Passive noise isolation is great, around 20 dB to 25 dB, and they feel lightweight, maybe a touch too light for my preferences. Cable is not tangle prone nor problematic, and the fact it is modular feels premium. Transport case is also very light, offers good protection, but it scratches easily.
Sound Quality
Pairings – I have paired the Punch Audio Portazo with a collection of sources, including FiiO K17, Audioengine HXL, Shanling Onix Beta XI2, Surfans F35 Music Player DAP, iBasso D17 Atheris, Burson Playmate 3, Rose Technics RT-5000, and Luxsin X9. They are super easy to drive and will easily get loud, plus they don’t distort easily, nor do they show hissing and background noise with ease. I like that they can easily reach max potential even with affordable dongle DAC AMPs like Audioengine HXL or ddHIFI Eye3. You will not have to worry about driving the Portazo.
Overall Signature – At its heart, Portazo is a more balanced listening experience than the Martilo, which is the only other IEM we’ve heard from the company. Portazo feels and sounds warm, with a bloomy sub-bass, but otherwise quite open and vocal. It is nowhere near as dark and bloomy as the Martilo and it is instead a natural, vocal, but warm sounding pair of IEMS with a big sub bass. The notes on the sub emphasis are a bit exaggerated I believe, as it is at most a bump of 10 dB rather than 15 dB.
Bass – At the bottom end, Portazo is clearly bass tuned, but it is less warm than Martilo, and it barely enters the basshead territory, instead sounding rather balanced and even a bit bright and open at times. This is because while there’s some bass extra punch, it is around 10 dB of extra bass at most, with the bass range emphasizing being between 20 Hz and 100 Hz. It all sounds rather clean with the bass delivering a warm, but pleasing punch.
Midrange – If anything, the vocals jump right out of the Portazo and it sounds sweet, emphasizing female voices far more than male voices, offering the listener a rather open, yet personal and intimate experience. Portazo presents all songs with a similar amount of soundstage, which is on the intimate side of things. The upper midrange is far more evident than the lower midrange, which gives voices and especially female voices more presence and life.
Treble – 
At the top, Portazo has extension up to 14 kHz, with a peaking range of 9 kHz – 14 kHz, above which it rolls off steeply. This creates a rather sharp treble resonance. While I did complain in my review exploring the Martilo that it rolls off too early, Portazo is so different that I would much rather call it V-Shaped than Basshead or even warm. But still, the vocals are more evident and more forward than the cymbal crashes or the bass.
Dynamics And Textures – Portazo has a slight compression effect, it contracts the dynamic range slightly which improves resolution and improves the level of details. Textures are generally natural, not very sharp in the BA style, but not very slow or bloomy either. It is fairly balanced so that cymbal crashes sound a bit wet and splashy instead of dry and fatiguing.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Portazo gets quite loud easily, and it does not distort at max volume, which allows you to enjoy even live counter levels of loudness with ease and without a high THD.
Soundstage – Although due to the open upper midrange and treble Portazo sounds open, it has an intimate soundstage that allows all sound to come from a similar place. This creates a wall of sound type of presentation that is great for rock and metal, or even modern electronic, but not a good fit for classical.
Value and Conclusion
With a really nice package, low price, good build quality and a strong technical sound for its price segment, Portazo has an excellent performance ratio and an easy recommend if you’re looking for your entry in the Chifi with a bit of extra bloom and bass.
Punch Audio Portazo is an excellent choice if you’re looking to experience some Chifi goodiness with extra bass, a bit of sub bass depth, and also a value for a pair of IEMs. I fully recommend them if you wanted to like Chifi but found the usual H-2019 tuning to be too flat for your liking.
PROs
- Bass is fairly powerful
- Good build quality and beautiful shells
- Transport case and modular cable included
- Wall Of Sound effect, great for rock, metal and EDM
- Intimate soundstage and personal voicing with little scattering
- Can get very loud with low distortion
- Very easy to drive and does not require a good source to reach max potential
- Great value
Cons
- Colored signature
- Not quite basshead yet
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4sDb2wP
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4SMvGDz
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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